Preview — Enemies
by Tim Weiner

Enemies: A History of the FBI

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYThe Washington Post • New York Daily News • Slate

“Fast-paced, fair-minded, and fascinating, Tim Weiner’s Enemies turns the long history of the FBI into a story that is as compelling, and important, as today’s headlines.”—Jeffrey Toobin, author of The OathNATIONAL BESTSELLEREnemies is the first definitive history of the FBI’s secrNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYThe Washington Post • New York Daily News • Slate

“Fast-paced, fair-minded, and fascinating, Tim Weiner’s Enemies turns the long history of the FBI into a story that is as compelling, and important, as today’s headlines.”—Jeffrey Toobin, author of The OathNATIONAL BESTSELLEREnemies is the first definitive history of the FBI’s secret intelligence operations, from an author whose work on the Pentagon and the CIA won him the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

We think of the FBI as America’s police force. But secret intelligence is the Bureau’s first and foremost mission. Enemies is the story of how presidents have used the FBI to conduct political warfare, and how the Bureau became the most powerful intelligence service the United States possesses.

Here is the hidden history of America’s hundred-year war on terror. The FBI has fought against terrorists, spies, anyone it deemed subversive—and sometimes American presidents. The FBI’s secret intelligence and surveillance techniques have created a tug-of-war between national security and civil liberties. It is a tension that strains the very fabric of a free republic.

Praise for Enemies

“Outstanding.”—The New York Times

“Absorbing . . . a sweeping narrative that is all the more entertaining because it is so redolent with screw-ups and scandals.”—Los Angeles Times...more

ebook, 560 pages

Published
February 14th 2012
by Random House
(first published January 1st 2012)

"A free people must have both security and liberty. They are warring forces, yet we cannot have one without the other."

When William Webster became Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1978, he was shocked to find that the FBI, spawned from the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) in 1935, was without a legal framework for its activities and operations. Author Tim Weiner describes:

"The Bureau had no charter—a legal birth certificate from Congress spelling out its role. It had never h

"A free people must have both security and liberty. They are warring forces, yet we cannot have one without the other."

When William Webster became Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1978, he was shocked to find that the FBI, spawned from the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) in 1935, was without a legal framework for its activities and operations. Author Tim Weiner describes:

"The Bureau had no charter—a legal birth certificate from Congress spelling out its role. It had never had one. It still does not."

Weiner's Enemies is a whirlwind history of how such an entity came to be and how, limited only by the "president's oath to take care that the laws are faithfully executed," its boundaries and missions have stretched and pulled and become what they are today. The author further specifies his goal as honing in on the history of the FBI's secret intelligence operations, describing the book (in part) as "a record of illegal arrests and detentions, break-ins, burglaries, wiretapping, and bugging on behalf of the president."

Most of what I found lacking in the book lay outside of Weiner’s intended scope. So, I only have myself to blame for the long list of events about which I want to know so much more. In all fairness, those details and anecdotes would have rendered this already hefty book into an unwieldy tome. You can’t have it all, I suppose.

American MachiavelliThere's a reason that a good chunk of FBI history reads much like a biography of its famed first director, J. Edgar Hoover. Since I already got most of my Archer-referencing J. Edna Hoover ya-yas out reading The Puppetmaster: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover earlier this year, I’m gonna shy away from commenting much on the man himself. However, it's clear that without Hoover, there simply is no history of this breed of federal activity.

"He was a founding father of American intelligence and the architect of the modern surveillance state. Every fingerprint on file, every byte of biographic and biometric data in the computer banks of the government, owes its origins to him."

Got a problem with that? Well, yeah! Duh. In a government that purportedly relies on a system of checks and balances, this kind of power (which, of course, is a function of information) is not meant to be left on the shoulders of one man without some serious supervision. And Hoover had the cunning necessary to keep that consolidated power. If you’re including his years as Director of the BOI, then Hoover’s reign starts with Calvin Coolidge in 1924 and closes during the Nixon Administration in 1972.

Legalizing SpycraftThe Espionage Act of 1917 was a game changer such that when Hoover became the chief of the Justice Department’s Radical Division in 1919, anyone in possession of information that could harm the nation (basically, anything with “disloyal ideas”) could be tossed in the slammer. You had your anarchists, socialists, and, of course, the good old Communist conspiracy, all of which the Justice Department wanted to quash, and thought J. Edgar was the man to do it.

To no great surprise, things got out of hand pretty quickly as espionage set its sights on senators at the whim of the attorney general.

“The Bureau of Investigation had been created as an instrument of law. It was turning into an illegal weapon of political warfare.”

The transition from BOI to FBI in 1935, however, was not inconsequential. Under Franklin D. Roosevelt, a wartime president (in case you forgot about a little thing called WWII), Hoover was first charged with tackling cases that crossed state boundaries- gangster wars, Prohibition. You know, stuff that had Hoover holding tommy guns for documentaries like You Can’t Get Away With It (below) in 1936.

Those criminal justice elements, and raids on political meetings, private homes, bookstores and bedrooms, however, didn’t give Hoover the kind of wiggle room he felt he needed to compete with the experienced foreign espionage services of the Soviets, Germans or Japanese. Enter, the Smith Act of 1940 which "included the toughest federal restrictions on free speech in American history: it outlawed words and thoughts aimed at overthrowing the government, and it made membership in any organization with that intent a federal crime."

Wartime, Wiretaps and Turf WarsThough Hoover had a hefty load on his plate under FDR, World War II required new arms of intelligence, and Roosevelt appointed William “Wild Bill” Donovan spymaster for the Office of Secret Services (which was, itself, a secret). Hoover was never big on sharing, and, thus, was not a fan of Wild Bill (considered the “intellectual father” of the CIA).

Thus began decades of painfully uncoordinated branches of American secret intelligence. Hoover was ever-aware of the lay of the land, and how best to manipulate higher-ups to get necessary approval. Weiner points out that: “if we don’t do this people will die” has withstood the test of time as a one-liner with a record of garnering quick signatures.

When the going was good, Hoover was first in line to take the credit. When Nazi saboteurs, including George Dasch (below) were captured in 1942, Edgar was sure to get a letter to the Oval Office ASAP boasting of how the FBI had effectively stopped the Third Reich from invading American soil (not bothering to mention that Dasch, in fact, turned himself in).

And, in a vast oversimplification of affairs, let’s just say that when FDR passed and Truman took office, Hoover tried to treat Truman like a gullible babysitter, claiming FDR totally would have let him watch TV after 9pm, or, you know, run a black bag job or two.

From the Red Scare to the War on TerrorI was born in 1984, so names like Timothy McVeigh, Ted Kaczynski, and David Koresh come to mind when I think of FBI takedowns of yesteryear.

Then I remember hearing a little something something about some McCarthy fellow who dominated the small screen for a while, getting to watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers in high school history class, and Boris and Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle, and it comes back to me that the threat of Communism was kind of a big deal.

This would be the part of the book where I leaned heavily on Wikipedia to give me a bit more context on a hit parade of names that came up in a mix of Bureau espionage achievements and embarrassments. You know, the type of stuff that would have Ronald Reagan joking into the microphone during soundcheck:

“My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever.”

Even as the targets of secret intelligence operations and the faces of terror shifted from the likes of Aldrich Ames and Alger Hiss, to the Blind Sheik (below) and Osama Bin Laden, there remained one constant, critical threat to the American way of life.

I think FBI Director Robert S. Mueller (from 2001 to 2013) summed it up best:

“We did not have a management system in place to assure that we were following the law.”

The Rules of EngagementWeiner does get into the detail of how changes in technology and personnel (not to mention geopolitics) altered/continues to alter the elusive balance between security and freedom. He does a pretty damn good job of it too, so, you know, read the book, because it's interesting and intricate stuff.

Some rules have become a bit more clear. You know, like the fact that “if invited in, law enforcement can enter your home without a warrant.” (citation, Cyril Figgis). And, once that happens, well I'll let Agent Hawley say it:

[Oh, come on! Did you really expect me to do this entire review without at least one Archer reference?] ...more

SteveSo I need to check out Archer it seems. Thanks for the tip!
May 27, 2014 02:33PM

MaraKiller wrote: "“We did not have a management system in place to assure that we were following the law.”[Mueller's next line]: 'And thank goodness forKiller wrote: "“We did not have a management system in place to assure that we were following the law.”[Mueller's next line]: 'And thank goodness for that, because following the law would have seriously cramped ..."

Ha! Sad but true, though Mueller probably turned things around more than anyone else...which isn't saying very much....more
May 28, 2014 12:45PM

Reading this book i realized a couple things i didn't know before. One, that J. Edgar Hoover was probably the most powerful man in American history, only because of the amount of sway that he had on just about anyone. And two, that the FBI is this weird mix of 1984 and the Wizard of Oz, where you have this agency that is presumably watching you all the time but it does have a head; and that head, until his death, was J. Edgar.

I really love the fantastical element of his character. The daunting sReading this book i realized a couple things i didn't know before. One, that J. Edgar Hoover was probably the most powerful man in American history, only because of the amount of sway that he had on just about anyone. And two, that the FBI is this weird mix of 1984 and the Wizard of Oz, where you have this agency that is presumably watching you all the time but it does have a head; and that head, until his death, was J. Edgar.

I really love the fantastical element of his character. The daunting seriousness coupled with the insatiable lust for being on the top of the mountain, where you oversee everyone else and no one sees you, a very private way of living, behind the screen, Wizard of Oz:

Ehrlichman approached the director with caution. His staff had warned him "that every meeting in Hoover's office was secretly filmed or videotaped. But they did not prepare me for the Wizard of Oz approach that his visitors were required to make." From the corridors of Justice, Ehrlichman was ushered through double doors guarded by Hoover's personal attendants. He walked into a room crammed with tributes to Hoover--plaques and citations emblazoned with emblems of American eagles and eternally flaming torches. The anteroom led to a second, more formal room, with hundreds more awards. That led to a third trophy room with a highly polished desk. The desk was empty.

"J. Edgar Hoover was nowhere to be seen," he wrote. "My guide opened a door behind the desk, at the back of the room, and I was ushered into an office about twelve or thirteen feet square, dominated by Hoover himself; he was seated ina large leather desk chair behind a wooden desk in the center of the room. When he stood, it became obvious that he and his desk were on a dais about six inches high. I was invited to sit on a low, purplish leather couch to his right. J. Edgar Hoover looked down on me and began to talk."

I find this book terrifying. Because in developing the FBI, J. Edgar thrust into our justice system all of the covert shit that haunts us, the lists of radicals or subversives, the secretive tribunals, wiretapping, dossiers of politically important characters and what's worst this sprawl of information contained by, now, the NSA in a neverending database in Bluffington, UT.

Talking with Tim Weiner through the Goodreads History club, I found out that Hoover was motivated because, quite simply, he thought Communism was Evil. That's capital E, E-vil. He was in the midst of a holy war for American Freedom against the communist usurper. This book does set up a context for that fear, right as the mad bombers of Luigi Galleani are bombing Chicago's chief of police and Wall Street; i understand that harrowing fear of a world under attack and the extremes you would do in the circumstance.

Hoover bought into Communism/Anarchism bent at this young and impressionable moment in his life as the never-ceasing wherewithal that we buy into terrorists having now. Not only a call to end what we know as freedom, but martyrdom for the sake of making sure our way of life is removed for their political ideals.

Understanding that, Hoover sought to take them out of the picture. This begat the Palmer Raids which begat the WWII lists of subversives which begat the Security Index and Cointelpro and the CIA's formation. After reading this book, i actually believe that Hoover was the Cold War.

Now, you might say, that's crazy. World-wide arms race with all of its soldiers spies. Hoover could not solely be responsible for that entire make-up. No, not exactly. But when we really conceive the beginnings of the Cold War, Roosevelt saying in 1940, that spies, saboteurs and traitors are the actors in this new strategy. With all of these we must and will deal vigorously. And that was Hoover's M.O., "constant surveillance," as Pinkerton wanted. So it began in the name of national security, but i like a quote by Louis Brandeis a Supreme court justice who railed against the authority to allow wiretapping, even in the name of making society suffer and giving criminals greater immunity than has been known heretofore. You always have to question, "Who is that policing force?", or as Brandeis put it, the greatest danger to liberty lie in insidious encroachments by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.

In the name of securing our freedom, Hoover developed a force of "intelligence" that kept everyone in this country in-check. Baggage on JFK and MLK, Adelaide Stephenson and Eleanor Roosevelt. Not to mention student groups, the Black Panther Party, and politicians galore. It's true, there are subversive agents that are trying to respell the ways in which America operates itself. And owing to the Alexander Hamilton's quote, the epitaph of the book, denying them will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being free

But is this worth 10,000 immigrants being arrested in 1920. 31,000 immigrants after World War 2.the infiltration of political groups by spies to inform and possibly work as provocateurs. or possibly the most heinous offense, allowing an information collection agency and clandestine operating force of this massive power to fall into the wrong hands, such as Bush and Cheney or Richard Nixon.

This so-called safety has long term implications. And the paranoid feeling that they know everything you do lingers. Don't know much what to do about it, other than read books like this and keep informed....more

An alarming and sobering book, comparable to the same author's study on the CIA.

From the 1920s to 1972, the FBI was little more than the personal satrap of J. Edgar Hoover. From the First Red Scare, John Reed and Emma Goldman all the way up to the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement - he had almost total control over domestic intelligence. However, the FBI also acted as a foreign analysis and counterintelligence bureau, counteracting or competing with the CIA on multiple occasions.

Their reAn alarming and sobering book, comparable to the same author's study on the CIA.

From the 1920s to 1972, the FBI was little more than the personal satrap of J. Edgar Hoover. From the First Red Scare, John Reed and Emma Goldman all the way up to the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement - he had almost total control over domestic intelligence. However, the FBI also acted as a foreign analysis and counterintelligence bureau, counteracting or competing with the CIA on multiple occasions.

Their record was mixed, at best. Some of their best successes were in World War II - completely destroying the German espionage network in the US for example, but they completely missed Pearl Harbor, despite having broken the Japanese code.

Eisenhower was a cooperative ally, trying to get intelligence on the Soviet Union (which was a success). Under the LBJ administration, Hoover was determined to smear Martin Luther King, whereas LBJ wanted to smash the Klan (which they did!) They did, in fact, keep tabs on the sexual liaisons of senior government officials, and Hoover did threaten Kennedy at least once with this information. Nixon was too paranoid even by their standards, demanding information on connections which did not exist. When even they balked at breaking into the Dem's headquarters, he organized the Plumbers and did it himself.

Like the CIA, the FBI had its own foreign interventions. In one instance, an FBI informant took power in the Dominican Republic.

After Hoover's decline and fall, Nixon's administration fell shortly after, and the organization had nearly destroyed itself before it could be rebuilt again. Some directors were weak, and others were openly disastrous - Louis Freeh, instead of investigating the budding Middle East terror networks like the CIA, refused to speak to Clinton at all and made the now-baffling decision of allying with the Gingrich congress and prosecuting Clinton for perjury.

Now that the NDAA and its new indefinite detention provisions have been signed into law some months ago, the organization may yet be stronger than ever. The powers which it had lost in the 1970s with Hoover's passing sprang back with the Patriot Act. It remains to be seen what will be done, and how many other executives are tempted this power, mercurial as it is....more

This is not a pretty picture of the FBI. In fact, when you finish it, you wonder why we should be supporting this institution with our tax dollars. This book focuses on the FBI's role in terrorist activity prevention and investigation so I hope that the history of the FBI with regard to good old crime is better. Some info that I didn't know: The FBI for most of its existence didn't even have a viable information system to retrieve all the information it obtained, legally and otherwise. We heardThis is not a pretty picture of the FBI. In fact, when you finish it, you wonder why we should be supporting this institution with our tax dollars. This book focuses on the FBI's role in terrorist activity prevention and investigation so I hope that the history of the FBI with regard to good old crime is better. Some info that I didn't know: The FBI for most of its existence didn't even have a viable information system to retrieve all the information it obtained, legally and otherwise. We heard a lot about how the non-cooperation and non-communication between the various intelligence services aided and abetted the events of 9/11. The author shows that this divided intelligence function had its roots in FDR's initial pre-WWII decision to divide the function among the FBI, Army and Navy . What is more amazing is all the long-time Soviet spies who functioned within the intelligence services for years without detection. Weiner has 84 pages of source footnotes to back up his facts. It's an amazing and frightening read. ...more

As I approach the midway point of Enemies: A History of the FBI I must confess I'm surprised at how easy the book has been to read. Being that J. Edgar Hoover was synonymous with the FBI, I'm not surprised to find that so far it is basically about the man who singlehandedly built the FBI to what it is today. Even knowing what I did about how Hoover used, and abused his powers to fight communism, I have still been shocked at how far he actually went to increase and retain the power that he weldedAs I approach the midway point of Enemies: A History of the FBI I must confess I'm surprised at how easy the book has been to read. Being that J. Edgar Hoover was synonymous with the FBI, I'm not surprised to find that so far it is basically about the man who singlehandedly built the FBI to what it is today. Even knowing what I did about how Hoover used, and abused his powers to fight communism, I have still been shocked at how far he actually went to increase and retain the power that he welded. And how single-minded he was in his pursuit. He seemed to think that everything was linked to communism, from homosexuality to the civil rights movement. I'm very much pulled back to the book every time I set it down. I can't wait to find out what he's going to do next. I'm approaching the Kennedy years so I'll finish this review when I'm done. Gotta find out how he got along with the Kennedy brothers.

Final Review

As I expected, Hoover didn't get along with the Kennedy's too keenly. The post-Hoover FBI didn't fair well either as subsequent directors failed to command the fear that Hoover did.Enemies is a fast paced read that will keep you turning pages. It deals mainly with national security issues rather than domestic policing, however I recommend it for anyone interested in the FBI or the security of the US. I liked it enough that I look forward to reading Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA.

If you liked Legacy of Ashes, you'll like Enemies. The converse also applies; Weiner retains the fast-paced, journalistic style of Legacy - tantalising links are left hanging and background is left as exercise for the reader.

Like his biography of the Agency this effort starts to fade as it heads closer to the present, deprived of declassified documents and on-the-record testimony it starts to read as a recap of recent NYT/WaPo exposes and the insights become less and less penetrating - one wondeIf you liked Legacy of Ashes, you'll like Enemies. The converse also applies; Weiner retains the fast-paced, journalistic style of Legacy - tantalising links are left hanging and background is left as exercise for the reader.

Like his biography of the Agency this effort starts to fade as it heads closer to the present, deprived of declassified documents and on-the-record testimony it starts to read as a recap of recent NYT/WaPo exposes and the insights become less and less penetrating - one wonders whether Weiner's glowing assessment of Mueller's FBI will look anywhere near as convincing in twenty years time.

Regardless, Enemies does a great job of placing the FBI, largely thought of as a law-enforcement organisation firmly under the spotlight in its capacity as the United States' domestic intelligence service, exploring and exposing it's successes, failures and the inherent tensions of running a secret police force in a democracy....more

This book is not as much a comprehensive review on the history of the FBI as the title might suggest. It's more of a biography of J. Edgar Hoover and his interactions with the Presidents and the Attorneys General of his time with an elongated addendum of what happened after he died. This makes sense considering the book was created after a declassification of quite a bit of confidential documents made during Hoover's time. It's still an interesting read nonetheless, especially if you are interesThis book is not as much a comprehensive review on the history of the FBI as the title might suggest. It's more of a biography of J. Edgar Hoover and his interactions with the Presidents and the Attorneys General of his time with an elongated addendum of what happened after he died. This makes sense considering the book was created after a declassification of quite a bit of confidential documents made during Hoover's time. It's still an interesting read nonetheless, especially if you are interested in the behind-the-scenes politicking at the highest levels. Reader beware, though, as with all politics, it's a pretty ugly sight seeing how things really get done. ...more

Few authors would feel qualified to tackle a historical account of the FBI, but Tim Weiner had the qualifications and put forth an unbiased account. The overwhelming theme of the book follows’ Alexander Hamilton’s quote “To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free”.

From its origin in the early 20th Century to present the FBI in its effort to protect America has accumulated and maintained vast files of personal information on Communists, mobsters and othersFew authors would feel qualified to tackle a historical account of the FBI, but Tim Weiner had the qualifications and put forth an unbiased account. The overwhelming theme of the book follows’ Alexander Hamilton’s quote “To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free”.

From its origin in the early 20th Century to present the FBI in its effort to protect America has accumulated and maintained vast files of personal information on Communists, mobsters and others known simply as potential “Enemies”. On the other end of the spectrum are some American citizens and high ranking government officials who consider the FBI as an “Enemy” infringing upon their way of life.

J. Edgar Hoover served as the tight controlling figurehead of the FBI from the mid-1920’s to the early 1970’s. Weiner dispelled myths associated with Hoover’s personal life noting that in essence Hoover was married to the FBI. It was his way and life. After decades of free reign the pendulum swung back and America’s judicial system forced the FBI into self examination. Today the bureaus mission continues on serving a vital role in identifying “Enemies”, who desire to dismantle the foundation our nation was built upon.

I got this book through a goodreads giveaway; that didn't affect my opinion.

Excellent, well-sourced work of relatively (can't expect total) impartial scholarship covering the history of the FBI, focusing on the Bureau as an intelligence organization (if you're interested in crime fighting, the mob, Waco, etc., you'll be disappointed). A tale of utter incompetence, constant leaks, constitutional infringements, blackmail, political infighting and abuses, miscommunication, petty jealousies, and queI got this book through a goodreads giveaway; that didn't affect my opinion.

Excellent, well-sourced work of relatively (can't expect total) impartial scholarship covering the history of the FBI, focusing on the Bureau as an intelligence organization (if you're interested in crime fighting, the mob, Waco, etc., you'll be disappointed). A tale of utter incompetence, constant leaks, constitutional infringements, blackmail, political infighting and abuses, miscommunication, petty jealousies, and questionable successes. On the bright side, also a tale of many dedicated men and women working against inertia, confusion, and absurdly outdated technology, who apparently never condoned or engaged in the modern torture and humiliation tactics of the CIA and Army.

The one negative of the book is that the endnotes aren't referenced in the text; highly annoying and not acceptable for a work of history. That's the only reason I don't give the book 5 stars. Even so, I'd recommend it to anyone who thinks it might interest them; I enjoyed it so much I'm looking forward to reading Weiner's past work....more

Dryly factual. Five stars for the overwhelmingly interesting facts, one star for the dry writing style which rarely goes into sufficient detail in its rush to recount large events often taking up large swaths of time. Of course, the detail I'm looking for would at least triple the length of the book, so you may disagree. The writing style would certainly make me hesitant to read three times the pages.

This book should be read by all Americans despite the intelligence-report style of writing. ThisDryly factual. Five stars for the overwhelmingly interesting facts, one star for the dry writing style which rarely goes into sufficient detail in its rush to recount large events often taking up large swaths of time. Of course, the detail I'm looking for would at least triple the length of the book, so you may disagree. The writing style would certainly make me hesitant to read three times the pages.

This book should be read by all Americans despite the intelligence-report style of writing. This is an honest and seemingly unbiased account of the many failures and few triumphs of the FBI in the areas of counterintelligence and terrorism. The complete disregard and contempt for the strict rule of law that the FBI has often demonstrated in the past is well documented. It also shows how even well-meaning ideology, morals, and political views can hamper and destroy what should be a completely independent and apolitical branch of the government....more

There's not much to see here: a one-damn-thing-after-another journalistic history, which makes no effort whatsoever to explain the events that it's relating. No doubt if you can simply accept and embrace that, you could find it vaguely interesting.

Weiner has a major advantage here, compared to his CIA history, which was so sprawling and unfocused that I sometimes wondered if he'd bothered to edit it at all: the FBI, for a long time, can be told as the story of J. Edgar. Of course, that story haThere's not much to see here: a one-damn-thing-after-another journalistic history, which makes no effort whatsoever to explain the events that it's relating. No doubt if you can simply accept and embrace that, you could find it vaguely interesting.

Weiner has a major advantage here, compared to his CIA history, which was so sprawling and unfocused that I sometimes wondered if he'd bothered to edit it at all: the FBI, for a long time, can be told as the story of J. Edgar. Of course, that story has been told over and again, but at least the first half of this book has some unity.

On the downside, like the CIA book, in Weiner's eyes, the FBI can't win: either it's doing unconstitutional or flat out illegal things, or it's not doing enough to prevent terrorism. More importantly, it too often turns into a history of things that happened in the world with which the FBI was, in however slight a way, connected. As with the CIA book, there's very little to suggest that this is a history of the institution, rather than a history of some stuff that happened this one time. This is made even worse by his (again, journalistic) tendency to see history through one very specific understanding of the present, to wit, battles over the strength of the executive.

You're better off reading actual histories of Al Qaeda and the Bush administration than reading this; I hope there are better books out there on the FBI. ...more

I rarely read American history. I've to confess, I like more of Ancient and Medieval history which rules American history out, but who doesn't like spies and the cloak and dagger world of espionage eh?

Enemies is a history of 20th Century America I could say. I only knew the FBI as an elite law enforcement agency, but Enemies really opened my eyes to a wholly different FBI.

Tim Weiner is a New York Times journalist whose previous book is a Pulitzer Prize winning history of the CIA (and next on myI rarely read American history. I've to confess, I like more of Ancient and Medieval history which rules American history out, but who doesn't like spies and the cloak and dagger world of espionage eh?

Enemies is a history of 20th Century America I could say. I only knew the FBI as an elite law enforcement agency, but Enemies really opened my eyes to a wholly different FBI.

Tim Weiner is a New York Times journalist whose previous book is a Pulitzer Prize winning history of the CIA (and next on my list!). Enemies is written in a droll, sometimes witty fashion that keeps you gripped from page one.

Weiner recounts that the FBI has spent most of its century long career as the secret police for American Presidents. From the 1920s onwards, the FBI was tasked with handling and removing subversives, foreign spies and communists (to Hoover, they probably were all the same). And boy do J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI make it a mission for Armageddon. Other enemies came and went: anarchists, Nazis, Fascists, Latin American terrorists, homosexuals, Vietnam war dissenters, even civil rights activists; but Hoover was relentless. Weiner stresses that this is finally not a biography of Hoover, but till almost the end of the book, Hoover and the FBI are inseparable. There's more to Hoover than the cross-dressing, living-with-his-mother persona we all know thanks to Hollywood. Then of course, there's Watergate and 9/11. Like I said, it was a good history of America in the 20th Century.

At its heart, Enemies is a sobering account of the mixed record of the FBI. They had some real breakthroughs, especially in WWII when they cracked Japanese ciphers (they missed Pearl Harbour though), and destroyed the Nazi spy network in the US; they even had a mole in the highest networks of the Soviet politburo. But they have a terrible record otherwise in the Cold War, and other foreign policy related issues. Hoover also ran a criminal regime with warrant less wiretaps, burglaries and other black-bag jobs whenever it suited him. His defense to other Presidents was that FDR had granted these to him in perpetuity (I kid you not) and every time he had to testify to Congress, he would disconnect all wiretaps a week before and truthfully say the FBI wasn't running any. What was the most shocking aspect was that while Congress and the American public would have taken Hoover to the cleaners if these details were known then, but Bush Jr. and co. have actually legalized these and countless other rights-violations over their sham War on Terror in the 21st Century.

Enemies is excellently footnoted and Weiner's research is impeccable. I can't imagine the amount of time he must have spent trawling through declassified and official accounts and documents to find some nuggets hidden underneath. The style with which Weiner presents all this dry information is just superb, and at times you forget you are reading a history. Since he is depending quite a bit on declassified material, Enemies is top-heavy with most of the best bits occurring from the 1920s to 70s. You really get a fresh look at characters such as FDR, Truman, Lyndon Johnson and of course Hoover.

I'd happily recommend this book to anybody remotely interested in history, and this book I think is now all the more significant in the light of Snowden's revelations.

Upon finishing this book, my conclusion is that the history of the FBI can be boiled down to J. Edgar Hoover, warrantless wiretaps and black bag jobs (a phrase I learned that means breaking and entering for spying purposes). The FBI began it's life as the president's secret police force, then it branched into counter-intelligence during World War I. The scope of J. Edgar Hoover's power, and his willingness to abuse it, intimidated a string of presidents and attorneys general.

Hoover dies considerUpon finishing this book, my conclusion is that the history of the FBI can be boiled down to J. Edgar Hoover, warrantless wiretaps and black bag jobs (a phrase I learned that means breaking and entering for spying purposes). The FBI began it's life as the president's secret police force, then it branched into counter-intelligence during World War I. The scope of J. Edgar Hoover's power, and his willingness to abuse it, intimidated a string of presidents and attorneys general.

Hoover dies considerably after the half-way point in the book (to give you some sense of his influence). Then Mr. Weiner chronicles the Watergate scandals, double agents during the Cold War, conflict with the CIA, decades of weak leadership, and counterterrorism in the modern age.

The book was interesting on the whole, but the second quarter, deep into the J. Edgar Hoover (as opposed to Herbert Hoover) era, it became difficult for me to keep my attention focused on who Hoover was targeting, blackmailing and bugging. But even that reinforces one of the themes of the book--the FBI has done a lot of stuff that no one is happy about. Though it has solved a great deal of crime along the way. The tension of freedom versus security is clear throughout.

Interestingly, Mr. Weiner (who has also written a similar book, which I have not read, on the history of the CIA) portrays the FBI as highly ethical and on the moral high ground compared to the CIA on the treatment of terror suspects in the last two decades.

3.5 stars--rounded down to three stars because of that really slow part in the middle that I had a hard time getting through. (I'm sure it is historically accurate, but it was also dull.)...more

“Enemies” is a colorful tale of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from its humble beginnings in 1908 fighting organized crime to its recent involvement in the War on Terror. Based on a wealth of research, declassified documents and interviews, the book devotes many of its pages to the larger-than-life character of its first director, J. Edgar Hoover, who for half a century personified the FBI and left an indelible stamp on the agency housed in the Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.

I was comp“Enemies” is a colorful tale of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from its humble beginnings in 1908 fighting organized crime to its recent involvement in the War on Terror. Based on a wealth of research, declassified documents and interviews, the book devotes many of its pages to the larger-than-life character of its first director, J. Edgar Hoover, who for half a century personified the FBI and left an indelible stamp on the agency housed in the Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.

I was compelled to read this book after watching a biopic on Hoover in order to get a fuller picture of the legendary man. The book offers an in-depth, no-holds-barred look at the Bureau and its leadership from Hoover to its most recent director, James B. Comey. Effusive in his praise and sharp in his criticism, the author paints a picture of a government agency torn between balancing its mission to provide security and fight criminal and terrorist activity and the need to protect civil liberties so that “Americans could be both safe and free.” Its first century has been one of successes, failures, and a constant struggle to find or upset this balance. The author draws from a wealth of documentary evidence to portray a Bureau that in many ways operates like a tragicomedy as it tries to make sense of and respond to ever-changing threats, often in heavy-handed and arguably unconstitutional ways. Weiner does an apt job of bringing the FBI to life.

Although the author makes no attempt to tell an impartial story, his interpretation of history makes it all the more interesting. Putting the FBI through the lens of constitutionality and civil rights, he chides the Bureau for its many deficiencies but commends it where it has taken strides to improve, such as discontinuing (at least publicly) warrantless searches and seizures and improving its information systems. He leaves the reader with the impression that the organization has moved away from many mistakes of the past and has a promising future as the U.S. Government’s primary law enforcement agency.

The book’s Achilles heel is its over-reliance on archival information. Much of it is devoted to the Hoover years, while events after his death seem glossed over. Depictions of evolution of the FBI during the War on Terror seem rushed. The author felt it necessary to tell the Bureau’s full history, but his lack of source material and apparent lack of access in the post-Hoover period is evident. It might have been better to focus on the agency’s first 50 years and save the last half century for another book.

I give this book five (5) stars and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the FBI, federal law enforcement, and civil liberties....more

The history of the FBI from its inception up to the early days of President Obama's first term in office. The FBI is an institution cloaked in secrecy and mystique, not all good, in the eyes of many Americans. What is great about how this author writes and approaches his subject is to dig deep into the details, line them up so that the facts tell the story all while drawing together disparate parts and weaving together relevant pieces to lay the story all out there. Victories to missed opportuniThe history of the FBI from its inception up to the early days of President Obama's first term in office. The FBI is an institution cloaked in secrecy and mystique, not all good, in the eyes of many Americans. What is great about how this author writes and approaches his subject is to dig deep into the details, line them up so that the facts tell the story all while drawing together disparate parts and weaving together relevant pieces to lay the story all out there. Victories to missed opportunities, he leaves nothing out. He gives detail and analysis without imposing too much of his own judgement, and keeps the story line moving.

The content sometimes scared the hell out of me, frankly. The tactics instituted by J. Edgar Hoover of secret wiretapping and mass imprisonment went too far. Perhaps that is too easy to say in hindsight, but the reality is that Hoover was convinced that the communist threat (to the extent there was one) was behind the civil rights movement and therefore justified wiretapping of civil rights leaders and their lawyers and others around them including hotel rooms they used when traveling. To find what? Nothing, as it turns out. At some point it seemed like the fact they were finding nothing spurned them on to look even harder. It was not a good foundation for an agency that is entrusted with keeping the country safe. Secrecy was ingrained in the FBI for decades. Hoover kept secret files that no one knew about until after his death, not even within the agency.

At the same time you have to admire Hoover's tenacity in how he wielded power and influence with all the different President's under which he served. They didn't all like him, and I don't think he cared too much about that, as long as he could get what he felt he needed to do the job he believed he was charged to do.

By the end of the book I was not in complete shock and despair. Things get better - they get worse for awhile, but they get better by the time we get around to the present day FBI. I have a great deal of repsect for what the women and men of the FBI are tasked with, and like any job there are good and bad among the bunch. It is clear to me that the leader of the organization plays a critical role and has the hardest job of all, to pursue a vision that keeps our country safe in a way that protects civil liberties and follows the rule of law. An intense book but very well done.

Full disclosure: I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway through The History Book Club. Thank you Random House!...more

Enemies: A History of the FBI by Tim Weiner is a non-fiction book which tells of the 100 year history of the famous organization. Mr. Weiner is a Pulitzer Prize winning author and a former New York Times reporter who wrote largely about American security.

The book is divided into four parts: Spies and Saboteurs, World War, Cold War and War on Terror. Each part spotlights on the main focus of the FBI during those times from Communism, to spies to political espionage and terrorism.

Enemies: A HistorEne­mies: A His­tory of the FBI by Tim Weiner is a non-fiction book which tells of the 100 year his­tory of the famous orga­ni­za­tion. Mr. Weiner is a Pulitzer Prize win­ning author and a for­mer New York Times reporter who wrote largely about Amer­i­can secu­rity.

The book is divided into four parts: Spies and Sabo­teurs, World War, Cold War and War on Ter­ror. Each part spot­lights on the main focus of the FBI dur­ing those times from Com­mu­nism, to spies to polit­i­cal espi­onage and terrorism.

Ene­mies: A His­tory of the FBI by Tim Weiner is a fas­ci­nat­ing book and an excel­lent treat­ment of what basi­cally amounts to domes­tic spy­ing. In his research, Mr. Weiner invoked the words of the Found­ing Fathers that we must be vig­i­lant; buy not com­pro­mise our civil lib­er­ties in the process. In this treat­ment, with each Pres­i­dent of either major party, this com­pro­mise is con­stantly tested with J. Edgar Hoover play­ing a major role.

The por­traits of men in power are one of the most dis­turb­ing aspects in this book. Nixon, Rea­gan, Clin­ton, LBJ, Hoover and more are all com­plex peo­ple who, once in the seat of power, dis­miss their for­mer beliefs in the notion that they are above the law (Nixon stated that if a Pres­i­dent does “some­thing” it’s not ille­gal and every other Pres­i­dent has agreed with him so far). Even Obama, a Con­sti­tu­tional scholar, signed the National Defense Autho­riza­tion Act, which allows for unspec­i­fied mil­i­tary impris­on­ment, with­out trial, of any Amer­i­can cit­i­zen “who was a part of or sub­stan­tially sup­ported Al Qaeda, the Tal­iban or asso­ci­ated forces that are engaged in hos­til­i­ties against the United States or its coali­tion part­ners”. Obama did pledge that he would not use this power, but what about the next guy (or gal)?

Hoover is so blinded by his hatred of Com­mu­nists that he jus­ti­fies all his uncon­sti­tu­tional acts (throw­ing Amer­i­cans in jail, spy­ing, etc.) by that logic. Even the Civil Rights move­ment was a tar­get, not because Hoover was racist, but because he believed the Com­mu­nist Party was behind it. But Hoover wouldn’t do any­thing to embar­rass the Bureau (which allows for a lot).

Being an orga­ni­za­tion with no for­mal char­ter from Con­gress, an orga­ni­za­tion which its basic fund­ing is still some­what secret since the days Theodore Roo­sevelt cre­ated a “Bureau of Inves­ti­ga­tion” con­trary to the wishes of Con­gress the FBI had much to prove. Being secre­tive is no recipe for suc­cess as the reader finds out; con­cen­trat­ing on secret intel­li­gence oper­a­tions, the author tells of many fail­ures and tales of stun­ning incom­pe­tence which occurred despite the secrecy, law­less­ness and pow­er­ful friends in high places.

But Ene­mies is not an all out crit­i­cism of the FBI, Mr. Weiner does con­trast how the FBI has changed under Direc­tor Robert Mueller who believed in doing the right thing and even offer to resign (with other senior mem­bers) if the Bush 43 admin­is­tra­tion wouldn’t stop ille­gal domes­tic spy­ing after 9/11. The admin­is­tra­tion stopped and Mueller has set the tone for the FBI.

An eye open­ing account of the state of infor­ma­tion tech­nol­ogy (IT) state of the FBI was a shock. Unlike what movies and TV has us believe, up until recently the FBI’s IT depart­ment was sorely lack­ing. Agents didn’t have email, couldn’t con­tact agents in other offices or share infor­ma­tion. That is one issue which the FBI strug­gled with since day one – lots of data but lit­tle infor­ma­tion. An FBI agent “could not per­form a Google search or send e-mails out­side their offices” — not in 1980, but in 2000!

Another aspect of the book which was dif­fi­cult to com­pre­hend was the lack of coöper­a­tion with other intel­li­gence ser­vices and some­times within the Bureau itself. It was dis­heart­ening to read how past direc­tors have mis­judged their mis­sion, mak­ing the White House their main enemy while the agents inves­ti­gat­ing Al Qaeda mis­in­ter­preted a direc­tive from the Depart­ment of Jus­tice to share evi­dence. An agent try­ing to get a search war­rant for Zacarias Mous­saoui, the 20th hijacker, didn’t receive it because the FBI appar­ently “did not have a dog in this fight”.That was on the after­noon of 10 Sep­tem­ber, 2001.

Ene­mies is an immensely inter­est­ing read, depress­ing at times but with all the mak­ings of a first rate thriller. At times I had to put the book down because it is so full of infor­ma­tion and at times because it was sim­ply too hard to believe what I was read­ing. I always respected the work the FBI does and this book just height­ened my admi­ra­tion to the agents and the lead­er­ship which is tak­ing them in a new, more con­sti­tu­tional, direction.

Lewis Weinstein... and yet, the FBI asserted without proof that Bruce Ivins was the sole perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks, and is sticking to that assertion d... and yet, the FBI asserted without proof that Bruce Ivins was the sole perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks, and is sticking to that assertion despite the demolition of every aspect of their case. They have presented no evidence, no witnesses, and no science to prove their case.

as usual, this is a short review; for a somewhat longer post click here.

My many thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book. It is an eye-opening, well-researched and intelligently-constructed history of the FBI in its role as a "secret intelligence service." The book examines how the Bureau has long been operating outside of the rule of law -- "the foundation on which America was built", and offers its readers a look at the ongoing struggle between national security and civil libeas usual, this is a short review; for a somewhat longer post click here.

My many thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book. It is an eye-opening, well-researched and intelligently-constructed history of the FBI in its role as a "secret intelligence service." The book examines how the Bureau has long been operating outside of the rule of law -- "the foundation on which America was built", and offers its readers a look at the ongoing struggle between national security and civil liberty. It also details the relationships the FBI directors (especially J. Edgar Hoover) have had with American presidents since the Bureau's inception. Although I may not personally agree with the author's final conclusion, it's still a very well-written book.

Enemies is incredibly interesting, fleshing out bits and pieces of history with which I'm somewhat familiar, and it offers anyone remotely interested in the topics he covers a great deal of fodder for further reading. It's very reader friendly, and despite some reviews I've read about it being snooze material, it will grab the attention of anyone who's interested. What you won't find here are any juicy pieces of speculation about Hoover and his sex life, which is just as well -- it's all hearsay anyway and it's also irrelevant. I think, though, that Weiner might be looking through his rose-colored glasses -- an FBI manual of operations is all well and good, but time and again, and he shows it himself, when push comes to shove in a matter of national security, the government can exercise greater powers that don't always mesh with our constitutional rights. ...more

Most of the reviews are quite good at Describing the main thrust of the book. So, I will be content to render my general opinion. Having also read Time Weiner's previous History of the CIA, I was struck by the thoroughness of the FBI's counterespionage efforts - many of which were illegal or of questionable legality - compared with the CIA's woeful record. Perhaps the most impressive realization I came away with was how, in this age of ?the War on Terror, so many of the Strategies and tactics piMost of the reviews are quite good at Describing the main thrust of the book. So, I will be content to render my general opinion. Having also read Time Weiner's previous History of the CIA, I was struck by the thoroughness of the FBI's counterespionage efforts - many of which were illegal or of questionable legality - compared with the CIA's woeful record. Perhaps the most impressive realization I came away with was how, in this age of ?the War on Terror, so many of the Strategies and tactics pioneered under J. Edger Hoover have been reinstitutionalized under Director Mueller, albeit with at least a modicum of judicial oversight and review. This book also makes clear how dependent we as a nation are on vital institutions that human beings who are not always operating with high ideal and true moral compasses. Let us hope that this book assists those who will be confirming future FBI directors with at least a template of the kind of persona needed to run this important organization, which in the wrong hand could become - indeed for a time virtually was - America's secret police....more

PamI've read both as well, Richard. Director Mueller, at least, has a foundational platform to work from and we ( public) rely on whatever level of judicI've read both as well, Richard. Director Mueller, at least, has a foundational platform to work from and we ( public) rely on whatever level of judicial oversight and or review is available to the extent that information is released via media or otherwise. I'm less prone to believe that secrecy, surveillance, etc. has strict judicial restraints given the current environment post-9/11 coupled with advanced technology, social medium, etc....more
Dec 06, 2012 08:16AM

One of the greatest take-aways from this book is how we as Americans have failed in our responses to dissent. Rather than appreciating that we have the freedom of dissent, we've in all cases attempted to crush it. Attempting to silence one's enemies almost always backfires. J. Edgar Hoover's obsession with stamping out Communism, a passion he shared with several presidents, was a colossal waste of resources and lives, and created an atmosphere of distrust and a lack of faith in a nation that wasOne of the greatest take-aways from this book is how we as Americans have failed in our responses to dissent. Rather than appreciating that we have the freedom of dissent, we've in all cases attempted to crush it. Attempting to silence one's enemies almost always backfires. J. Edgar Hoover's obsession with stamping out Communism, a passion he shared with several presidents, was a colossal waste of resources and lives, and created an atmosphere of distrust and a lack of faith in a nation that was founded upon ideas of equality and fairness.

I was particularly disappointed in the lack of integrity of almost every president, beginning with FDR, and how they drank deeply from the well of forbidden fruit (break-ins, wiretaps, etc.) held out by Hoover. What' interesting is that the lack of integrity clearly spanned both political parties.

I recommend this book to any history buff, but anyone who loves America should also read it and contemplate that one cannot wring justice from injustice....more

This thing blazes along, (the Fire I smelt smoldering in the Smoke of Leo daCappo's JEH {or is it smoke that smolders?}); even more furiously than TW's CIA Legacy. It's really well-done History, with lots of trails to follow. Enormously useful for researching my own project, where i set the early '50's as the centerpiece, and has had me revise just who is the main character in a period where everyone seems to be: The Wild West of the Cold War, with mushroom clouds making bigger and bigger booms This thing blazes along, (the Fire I smelt smoldering in the Smoke of Leo daCappo's JEH {or is it smoke that smolders?}); even more furiously than TW's CIA Legacy. It's really well-done History, with lots of trails to follow. Enormously useful for researching my own project, where i set the early '50's as the centerpiece, and has had me revise just who is the main character in a period where everyone seems to be: The Wild West of the Cold War, with mushroom clouds making bigger and bigger booms.

Einstein monk-like (sort of) supposedly tickling the Unified Field Theory and dashing off a letter now and then (what was he really working on) , the Oppenheimers, the Rosenbergs, may I suggest Robert Cuver's Public Burning (fiction), the Wild Bills (Wild Wild Bill Donovan and Mild Wild Bill Stephenson, the British Puppetmaster, that you behind the curtain, Georgie?), The Dulles Boys, one splits the pie, the other choosing thje piece, Ike's anomolous Prognostication, his unlovely Nixon creature (Alberich? Gollum? he really named him gollum! dwarfing the medieval Frankenstein); Those Darling Katzenjammer Kennedy Kids tumbling under Daddy's partner's desk, maybe spinning a few Cutty Sark Bottles)[may i --well i will, suggest another links? but i am sure all these are pretty obvious, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror,] the Most Dignified Statesman Mossadegh, Jeez, what could be more exciting... i even see The Chums of Chance drfting in and out of time in their Dirigible (more obscure perhaps, Against The Day, TP). well its all here double toiling and tripley troubling. And Weiner sets a lively pace and keeps it marching. And By way of my contributing for your delectation a couple British blokes you all may not know, of the novelistic breed to the Eye of newt, and toe of frog, ... and tongue of dog, an Adder's fork,might be Anthony Price with some 20 Cold War historical baubles or rather Faberge easter eggs, a fine example being "Tomorrow's Ghost", which circle around an Oxford Historian who is the go-to guy for the fictional MI-6, in stories which really are history puzzles and good ones. The other I would introduce deserves far more attention and admiration than he has been accorded, he might be the Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,— For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. to keep the music going just a little too long on this silly Shakespearean Rag, is James T. Farrell NOT the Studs Lonigan JT Farrel, but a Brit with 3 novels i know and love:The Singapore Grip (set at the Japanese seige of Singapore early in WW2 where they invade by taking bicycles down the malaysian peninsula to surprise and utterly destroy the british force, "The Seige of Krishnapur" based on the 1857 Sepoy successful Rebellion against the British in Meerut, India; and if you cannot imagine an hilarious mutiny and massacre that is because it requires this brilliant writer to write it. His other is "Troubles", about the time of Troubles in Ireland after the Easter Uprising. I have mixed it up a bit here, i hope not too many mind my wayward conceits, i mean them only in the spirit of good reading....more

A fascinating account of the FBI that extends 1917 to present time. Weiner chronicles J. Edgar Hoover's administration until his death, accounting his many attempts to illegally circumvent the Constitution with illegal wiretaps, bag jobs, secret enemy lists and other illegal techniques on countless Americans. I found it mind boggling that Hoover held such sway over FDR, Truman, Eisenhower and the Kennedy's. But one must look at his actions in context of the times and the events that were occurriA fascinating account of the FBI that extends 1917 to present time. Weiner chronicles J. Edgar Hoover's administration until his death, accounting his many attempts to illegally circumvent the Constitution with illegal wiretaps, bag jobs, secret enemy lists and other illegal techniques on countless Americans. I found it mind boggling that Hoover held such sway over FDR, Truman, Eisenhower and the Kennedy's. But one must look at his actions in context of the times and the events that were occurring then. His relationships with various presidents was also interesting-FDR who gave Hoover unprecedented access; Johnson who claimed to love Hoover like a brother and Nixon who eventually wanted Hoover gone. The book is long and sometimes Weiner's accounts of Hoover's obsession with rooting out Communism seems repetitive. It was interesting to me to read about what happened during those times I most remember-Watergate, Ames and Hanssen spying cases, Battleship Cole bombing, the Kenya embassy bombing and of course, 9/11. It was shocking to learn just how unprepared the FBI was in terms of technology and ability to work with corresponding agencies like the NSA and CIA. I will definitely read Weiner's book on the CIA-Legacy of Ashes. ...more

Why is it so hard for the United States to have an effective intelligence service and achieve a reasonable balance between individual rights and national security? Weiner’s history of the FBI had me asking that question and the likely answers were not comforting. Ever since 1917 when the Red Threat arose and J. Edgar Hoover joined what would become the FBI, abuse of power and confusion have been the hallmarks of the FBI. Hoover’s need to keep tight personal control meant the FBI was never properWhy is it so hard for the United States to have an effective intelligence service and achieve a reasonable balance between individual rights and national security? Weiner’s history of the FBI had me asking that question and the likely answers were not comforting. Ever since 1917 when the Red Threat arose and J. Edgar Hoover joined what would become the FBI, abuse of power and confusion have been the hallmarks of the FBI. Hoover’s need to keep tight personal control meant the FBI was never properly organized. His legacy haunts it to this day.

Hoover, as bad as he was with his private collection of secrets on everyone of importance, knew his limits and not to go beyond them, which is why he lasted in the FBI 55 years. Worse than Hoover were presidents such as JFK, Nixon, Reagan and Bush 43, who tried to do the FBI’s job themselves, but didn’t know their limits and went out of control. Weiner’s recounting of the presidents’ relations with the FBI and their attempts to bypass or usurp it were more interesting to me than those of the FBI itself and more upsetting. Here are some highlights.

Many presidents were happy to take advantage of Hoover’s secrets. FDR, LBJ and Nixon used information from Hoover’s secret files for their own political purposes. Truman was skeptical of Hoover but would not dare take him on. JFK had plenty of reasons to be terrified of Hoover who had the dirt on his many affairs including the one with Judith Campbell who JFK shared with mob boss Sam Giancana. The JFK administration tried to enlist the mob to assassinate Castro for the CIA with Campbell serving as a go-between with benefits.

JFK literally in bed with the mob had to be a new low, but Nixon’s Plumbers, a bumbling crew of Watergate fame led by the inept G. Gordon Liddy, were scraping the bottom too. Reagan, not to be outdone, established his own White House anti-terrorist group under the nefarious Oliver North, hitting bottom with active support of murderous regimes in El Salvador and Nicaragua financed by skimming money from the sale of missiles to Iran, an example of duplicity hard to beat. But then came George W. Bush descending to new lows with lots of advice from one who always knew best, Dick Cheney. Bush and Cheney implemented torture on a wide scale, sending people at will to secret prisons, and abandoning any pretense of individual rights. The proclivity to secrecy and control for personal and ideological gain at the expense of individual rights seems so pervasive that it is hard to believe it will ever change.

Weiner ends on a bit of an upbeat note as Obama takes office with Director Mueller as FBI Director and the FBI, CIA and Defense Department agencies finally begin to cooperate. Mueller and his assistant and current FBI Director James Comey were notable for standing up to the Bush administration refusing their demands for wiretaps without warrants. Mueller began rebuilding the FBI following twenty years of incompetent leadership by FBI Directors, Louis Freeh and William Sessions, both having furthered the FBI’s decline.

While overall intelligence effectiveness SEEMS to have improved now due to better organization and coordination of intelligence agencies, only time will tell if this is true. History still has to decide if the latest twist on counterterrorism operations, the drone strike program, has more downside than upside. While many terrorists are killed, so are innocent people and many new enemies are created as people turn against the US in what they see as abuse of power. The final answer may lie in how well the program is controlled and history does not bode well here.

Would Reagan have used drones in Central America in his support of ruthless dictators or Cheney with Bush’s ever ready approval against the Lackawanna Six in New York simply because HE thought they were an al-Qaeda cell, later disproven? Cheney wanted the US Army to capture the Lackawanna Six, American citizens on American soil, so they could be treated as enemy combatants, sent to Guantanamo, tortured and denied a trial, which except for the intervention of FBI Director Mueller, might well have happened. For Cheney, drones would have provided a much more expedient solution. So what does the future hold for ever present paranoid politicians equipped with ever increasing technical capabilities? We can only guess, but if you are scared, well, history says you should be....more

"Enemies: A History of the FBI" is an encyclopedic and fair and even-handed chronicle of the first 100 years of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a secret intelligence service. Pulitzer prize-winning author and correspondent Tim Weiner provides the public with a superbly researched account of the agency's conflict over its conduct of secret intelligence in an open democracy. Weiner makes revelations that can only result from exhaustive and inEnemies: A History of the FBI by Tim Weiner

"Enemies: A History of the FBI" is an encyclopedic and fair and even-handed chronicle of the first 100 years of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a secret intelligence service. Pulitzer prize-winning author and correspondent Tim Weiner provides the public with a superbly researched account of the agency's conflict over its conduct of secret intelligence in an open democracy. Weiner makes revelations that can only result from exhaustive and intelligent research. This informative 560-page book is broken out by the following four parts: I. Spies and Saboteurs, II. World War, III. Cold War, and IV. War on Terror.

Positives:1. An exhaustively researched, well-written, even-handed and accessible book on the history of the FBI.2. A fascinating topic in the hands of a Pulitzer-prize winning author. At its heart is how the mission of the agency creates a conflict between security and liberty. "Over the decades, the Bureau has best served the cause of national security by bending and breaking the law. A secret police is anathema in a democracy."3. The book is broken out in into four logical major parts that makes for easy future reference.4. Hoover's life in the agency. The book captures beautifully Hoover's indelible mark on the history of the agency. "Within a year, Hoover became the public face of the war on crime, the star of a show that captured the imagination of the American people, the name in the headlines, an icon in the American political theater."5. The birth of the agency. "On July 26, 1908, Bonaparte signed a formal order establishing a new investigative division with a thirty-four-man force of "special agents." He would have to beg, borrow, or steal the money and the men the president wanted. He appointed one Stanley W. Finch--a clerk unqualified to practice law in Washington, D.C.--as the first chief of the Bureau of Investigation."6. An interesting look at the Red threat. "On January 21, 1919--the day that the Senate took its first testimony on the Red threat--thirty-five thousand shipyard workers in Seattle walked off their jobs."7. The evolution of the FBI. The book will help you follow the changing missions as it correlates to the politics of the time. "PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT DELIVERED his first battle orders to Hoover on May 8, 1934. FDR said he wanted `a very careful and searching investigation' of American fascism."8. There are many interesting subplots in the book, one are the recurring battles between Hoover and Attorney Generals. "Their confrontation deepened. Attorney General Jackson was appalled to learn about Hoover's Custodial Detention Program."9. Another key subplot, the relationship between Hoover and the Presidents. Throughout the book, Weiner does a fantastic job of capturing those relationships in the context of the history.10. The evolution of spying in the Bureau. Hoover's obsession with fighting the Communist threat.11. Hoover's rise in power. "It was a dangerous moment in American democracy. Hoover was no longer listening to the president."12. A fascinating look at the Cold war. "IN THE SUMMER OF 1950, Americans realized that the Cold War was a real war and the survival of the world was at stake. Hoover's FBI fought hard on the home front: his force was felt in every branch of the government, every court, and every college in America."13. The battles between the FBI and CIA.14. Fascinating stories involving the Kennedys. "RFK began to grasp the ubiquity of Hoover's power. He saw that Hoover had wired the national security establishment of the United States. The director had more information and power than the attorney general."15. A look at Watergate. "Nixon wanted political intelligence so badly that he created his own secret squad of burglars and wiretappers. He authorized the creation of a secret White House unit that had the capability to conduct those kinds of missions. The group was nicknamed the Plumbers, because in the beginning they sought to plug the leaks that plagued the president. They would carry out black-bag jobs, wiretaps, and disinformation campaigns on his behalf."16. Post Hoover, attempts to control the Bureau. "The court's purpose was to approve wiretapping and electronic surveillance requests by American intelligence officers--and to do it under law. For sixty years, from the start of Hoover's era, the FBI had made its own laws on taps and bugs. The court was not an obstacle to the Bureau--it approved more than seventeen thousand requests without once saying no over the next two decades. But the target had to be an agent of a foreign power. The FBI's ability to carry out secret intelligence operations was now governed by rules of law."17. The spies that hurt our country.18. A fascinating look at the war on terror. The impact that 9/11 had on the Bureau. "The testimony that the 9/11 Commission heard left many of the commissioners thinking that the Bureau should be rebuilt."19. A look at the Patriot Act. "The Patriot Act, written swiftly, in a state of fear, had greatly expanded the force of national security letters, a tactic rarely used before 9/11."20. Notes included.

Negatives:1. It requires an investment of your time.2. It's not what I would consider dry reading but some topics vary in interest and will feel like so. The book is more informative than entertaining (some may consider that a positive).3. The book called for a timeline of major events but none is present.4. A formal bibliography never hurts. I understand that the author based a lot of the book on declassified material but more reading material would have been helpful.

In summary, this is an excellent reference book. Weiner provides the public with a high-quality account of the first 100 years of the FBI. His treatment is fair, comprehensive and accessible. The book requires an investment of your time but I'm happy to say that though more informative than entertaining it's worth your time. I highly recommend it!

Further recommendations: "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA" by the same author, "Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda" by Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton, "The Shadow Factory: The NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America" by James Bamford, "Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad" by Peter L. Bergen, "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001" by Steve Coll, "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" by Richard A. Clarke, and "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America" by Chris Hedges....more

I was completely blown away by Tim Weiner's history of the CIA, so decided to continue the series with Enemies, his history of the FBI. This story is more familiar to me, but still compelling. Weiner makes a strong case for how important J. Edgar Hoover was to the 20th century and does a good job looking at how the agency responded to real and not-so-real threats. He's sympathetic to the FBI, going to some length to show, for example, that racism is not the only explanation for why the FBI targeI was completely blown away by Tim Weiner's history of the CIA, so decided to continue the series with Enemies, his history of the FBI. This story is more familiar to me, but still compelling. Weiner makes a strong case for how important J. Edgar Hoover was to the 20th century and does a good job looking at how the agency responded to real and not-so-real threats. He's sympathetic to the FBI, going to some length to show, for example, that racism is not the only explanation for why the FBI targeted civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King, Jr.. But he's also critical. He doesn't hesitate in talking about how far the FBI went in undermining democracy and the Bill of Rights and becoming a secret police force governed only by Hoover's will to power and politicians' lust for secret knowledge.

This book is an important contribution to 20th century American history, so much of which has been secret.

Quite a unsettling account of how a larger than life, not very benign character lorded over the agency for nearly half a century, fashioning quite the rudiments of a police state, and grew so powerful that even presidents were hesitant to take him on - but his legacy was not all that positive as the latter part of the book chronicling the FBI's inability to effectively come to grips with Islamist terror - of course against the backdrop of vicious turf wars with CIA and others - makes clear. Of cQuite a unsettling account of how a larger than life, not very benign character lorded over the agency for nearly half a century, fashioning quite the rudiments of a police state, and grew so powerful that even presidents were hesitant to take him on - but his legacy was not all that positive as the latter part of the book chronicling the FBI's inability to effectively come to grips with Islamist terror - of course against the backdrop of vicious turf wars with CIA and others - makes clear. Of course there are heroes, the director who held out a threat to quit rather than to countenance illegality, and a worthy operative (Ali Soufan) who had to quit after finding his expertise was being wasted. And then there are the farcial parts - the director who was at war with his president and the attempts to suborn a greviously ill Attorney General. In all, a most sobering and illuminating work about law enforcement and counter-intelligence at the highest levels.......more

Excellent book! At first, it's a bit intimidating since there is so much information. The best way to approach it is as a compelling story, without worrying about how much of the detail you can remember. Of course, you can also treat it as a history textbook and return to it time and again to learn more and more of this fascinating history.

Tim Weiner proves the old saw that those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it. In his book Enemies: A History of the FBI, Weiner presents a solid overview of the life and times of the FBI from its earliest days through the Obama administration. While it is generally popular to rail against the continued abuses of the U.S. government's spying on its own citizens, Weiner provides an excellent backdrop with a big-picture view based on the institutionalized belief of the FBI that itTim Weiner proves the old saw that those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it. In his book Enemies: A History of the FBI, Weiner presents a solid overview of the life and times of the FBI from its earliest days through the Obama administration. While it is generally popular to rail against the continued abuses of the U.S. government's spying on its own citizens, Weiner provides an excellent backdrop with a big-picture view based on the institutionalized belief of the FBI that it is their prerogative to do so.

The dilemma of the moral and legal arguments that are necessarily raised by Weiner's book is that the FBI (and its ilk) have largely reacted to threats, both real and perceived, that threaten the safety and security of the nation. Weiner doesn't run from or downplay these threats, but in this book he does not really take up the arguments about how much surveillance is too much surveillance. In that sense, Weiner presents a largely balanced and unbiased history of the FBI and the people who have most impacted it....more

From the Pulitzer Prize winner author that brought us the brilliant history of the CIA – Legacy of Ashes – Tim Weiner this time has decided to tackle the FBI and the man synonymous with the institution. Taking us back to the beginning of the twentieth century and the Teddy Roosevelt administration as it struggled with the lack of intelligence both domestic and foreign available to it. From there we’re taken along the contours of American history we thought familiar,Enemies by Tim Weiner [Review]

From the Pulitzer Prize winner author that brought us the brilliant history of the CIA – Legacy of Ashes – Tim Weiner this time has decided to tackle the FBI and the man synonymous with the institution. Taking us back to the beginning of the twentieth century and the Teddy Roosevelt administration as it struggled with the lack of intelligence both domestic and foreign available to it. From there we’re taken along the contours of American history we thought familiar, learning how the agency responded to hundreds of domestic terrorism episodes over the decades as they served different masters at the White House, and how that relationship could be highly contentious. Whether it was with the bureau’s longest standing director J. Edgar Hoover who proved unrelenting in his war against communism and completely prepared to skirt the law so long as it meant they were taking the war to the nation’s enemies, or the successive generations that followed who continued these practices believing them the only way to battle the new threats that were emerging, the FBI has long wrestled with these responsibilities and the nebulous legalities of their actions having long received little official direction from Congress.

Enemies chronicles the century’s long tension that has existed within the American government between those who believe national security to be of paramount concern, with those that strove to protect civil liberties even if it meant risking that very security, and while it might seem like a lot to take on, Weiner is an artful story teller uncover the untold story of the FBI in this extremely well researched book compiled from the thousands of declassified documents and Hoover’s own notes. Certainly an interesting read and would definitely be worth the time....more

Tim Weiner reported for The New York Times for many years as a foreign correspondent and as a national security correspondent in Washington, DC. He has won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and the National Book Award for LEGACY OF ASHES: The History of the CIA. His new book, out in July, is ONE MAN AGAINST THE WORLD: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon.

“The answer was Stellar Wind. The NSA would eavesdrop freely against Americans and aliens in the United States without probable cause or search warrants. It would mine and assay the electronic records of millions of telephone conversations—both callers and receivers—and the subject lines of e-mails, including names and Internet addresses. Then it would send the refined intelligence to the Bureau for action. Stellar Wind resurrected Cold War tactics with twenty-first-century technology. It let the FBI work with the NSA outside of the limits of the law. As Cheney knew from his days at the White House in the wake of Watergate, the NSA and the FBI had worked that way up until 1972, when the Supreme Court unanimously outlawed warrantless wiretaps. Stellar Wind blew past the Supreme Court on the authority of a dubious opinion sent to the White House the week that the Patriot Act became law. It came from John Yoo, a thirty-four-year-old lawyer in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel who had clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. Yoo wrote that the Constitution’s protections against warrantless searches and seizures did not apply to military operations in the United States. The NSA was a military agency; Congress had authorized Bush to use military force; therefore he had the power to use the NSA against anyone anywhere in America. The president was “free from the constraints of the Fourth Amendment,” Yoo wrote. So the FBI would be free as well.”
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“[Re: J. Edgar Hoover] His knowledge was enormous, though his mind was narrow.”
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